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A Star is Born proves some Hollywood stories are timeless for a reason

A Star is Born proves some Hollywood stories are timeless for a reason

Photo by Neal Preston / Warner Bros.

Welcome to Cheat Sheet, our brief breakdown-style reviews of festival films, VR previews, and other special event releases. This review comes from the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

Itâs easy to lament Hollywoodâs love of reboots, remakes, and sequels as a sign of modern-day creative stagnation, but the truth is that the entertainment industry has always loved retelling the same stories. Whether filmmakers are recycling familiar genre archetypes or giving an old classic a modern update, reviv als have been a movie staple since the beginning of the industry â" and sometimes, those remakes can become classics in their own right. (Just ask fans of John Carpenterâs The Thing or David Cronenbergâs The Fly.)

But even given that long history, few movies stand out for the sheer number of remakes like A Star is Born. A story about an aspiring young female entertainer who falls in love with a male star whose career is on the decline, the film has been remade four times, with Janet Gaynor (1937), Judy Garland (1954), Barbra Streisand (1976), and now Lady Gaga in Bradley Cooperâs directing debut.

Itâs valid to ask whether a movie needs to be made a fourth time, but Cooperâs fantastic, emotional film demonstrates how execution, style, and a modern point of view can make even the most familiar story fresh again. A Star is Born isnât just proof that Lady Gaga is a wickedly talented movie star (though it does prove that) or that Cooper is a tremendously talented writer and director (it proves that, too). Itâs a reminder that some stories are truly timeless and allow us to examine aspects of the human condition no matter what decade theyâre made in.

Whatâs the genre?

Itâs a love story. Itâs a rags-to-riches wish-fulfillment fantasy. Itâs a tragic drama about addiction. But more than anything else, Cooperâs A Star is Born is like a greatest hits compilation of every previous iteration of the story. There are beats pulled from every prior incarnation to the point where A Star is Born starts to feel like its own weird subgenre.

Whatâs it about?

Jackson Maine (Cooper) is a musician struggling with addictions to pills and booze and in denial about his gradual hearing loss. After a show one night, his driver takes him to a drag club, where he sees Ally (Lady Gaga) perform, and he is instantly taken by her voice. The pair chats all night, and Jackson encourages her to start writing and singing her own songs, as thatâs the one thing that will make her unique as an artist. Sheâs reluctant to make herself that vulnerable, having been told since childhood that sheâs not beautiful enough to really make it â" an idea reinforced by her well-meaning but unhelpful father Lorenzo (a fantastic performance by Andrew Dice Clay).

The next day, Jackson flies Ally to one of his gigs and invites her to sing with him onstage. The audience loves them together, and soon, Ally joins Jackson on tour. The two quickly fall in love as Ally cuts her teeth singing as part of Jacksonâs band. Soon, she signs with a manager and starts building her own career.

But as Allyâs career begins to take off, Jackson ends up on the decline. His brother and road manager (Sam Elliott) leaves him, and while Ally inspires Jackson to get sober in fits and spurts, he nevertheless keeps falling off the wagon at the worst possible moments. Heâs unable to cope with his addiction and Allyâs rocket ship success, and their role reversal begins to add further strain to their once-idyllic relationship.

Whatâs it really about?

Cooperâs film doesnât make any bones about it: this is a movie about addiction and the crippling effects the disease has not just on the addict, but on anybody in their orbit. When Ally meets Jackson, heâs already been an alcoholic for much of his life, a trait he seems to have inherited from his father, who was also a heavy drinker. Everything about his rock n roll lifestyle has enabled him to feed that beast, no matter the cost. Everyone enables him, from his brother to his driver, and only when Ally enters the picture does he consider that he might actually have a problem.

But when things get tough, the same people who helped and protected Jackson bear the brunt of the fallout. He blames h is brother for things he doesnât remember; he publicly embarrasses Ally at key moments because he canât stay sober. At times, the film is excruciating, and Cooperâs performance zeroes in on the anxiety and fear Jackson feels as he tries to grapple with a life and a problem that have swung wildly out of his control.

At the same time, Cooper the filmmaker is also interested in exploring how vital support structures are in encouraging positive growth in people. Jackson is a drunk, but heâs also Allyâs mentor and biggest cheerleader, and when they meet, heâs able to convince her to set aside years of thinking that she isnât good enough to share her talents with the world. Ally has grown up with a father who was an aspiring singer and convinced himself that he was just as talented as Frank Sinatra, but he just didnât have that intangible âitâ factor that could have made him a star. Ally has internalized that excuse her entire life, but Jackson convinces her th at her voice and artistic worldview will make her work stand out. Once she decides to own that, she becomes unstoppable, but she might not have ever had the confidence without Jackson, which makes the growing disconnect in their relationship all the more painful.

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Is it good?

Allyâs overnight success and rocket to stardom is inherently cheesy. Itâs pure Hollywood wish fulfillment, which would normally tend to make this entire endeavor feel a bit flimsy and disposable. But Cooper is able to overcome that with a film thatâs incredibly emotional and fearlessly dark when required. A lot of it comes down to two performance s: Cooper and Lady Gaga have remarkable chemistry as Jackson and Ally, and he brings a world-weariness to his portrayal that makes it seem like Jackson is years past the point of no return, even though he hasnât quite realized it.

Ally, on the other hand, is filled with trepidation. She can put on a full-on show singing âLa Vie En Roseâ when sheâs among friends in the drag club, but put her in a situation where she has to sing her own songs, and she nearly drops into a panic. Watching her transform into a self-assured powerhouse so quickly may not quite be realistic, but Gagaâs assured performance makes it all feel real and grounded. She gives Ally a steely internal core, and while it may be something Ally needs to discover as a performer, itâs something she has innately when it comes to her personal relationships, whether sheâs standing up to her father or demanding better from Jackson.

Also key to the filmâs success is the way it absolutely refuses to flinch when Ally and Jackson face real turmoil and his addiction begins to have true repercussions. Given the rags-to-riches nature of Allyâs storyline, it would be easy for the film to soft-pedal the darker aspects of their relationship, but instead, A Star is Born leans into them without reservation. It works almost as a dramatic bait and switch: luring the audience in with the aspirational story before hitting them with the much more troubling evolution of Ally and Jacksonâs relationship.

Itâs impossible to watch Jacksonâs storyline without being reminded of the struggles of countless musicians and celebrities over the past decade â" or of just everyday, ordinary people who are fighting addiction. It gives the movie a timely layer of resonance that makes it seem even more vital, its uplifting moments more triumphant, and its moment of darkness even more defeating. Cooperâs A Star is Born is unquestionably a film born out of our current era and modern struggles with addiction. In that way, it serves as a potent reminder that even the most familiar stories can be used to examine the issues and concerns of a given moment.

What should it be rated?

Itâs apparently been rated R for brief nudity and substance abuse, but PG-13 really might be more appropriate for this content.

How can I actually watch it?

A Star is Born opens in American theaters on October 5th.

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